Can You Understand This Video In English? — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:00Let's see if you can understand me if I
2. 0:02talk at normal speed. I'm sure most of
3. 0:04you have already watched uh some of my
4. 0:07videos in which I speak a little bit
5. 0:09slower. They're made for people that
6. 0:11can't quite understand native English
7. 0:14yet, and so they need content that's uh
8. 0:16slower, that's a little bit clearer for
9. 0:18them. So, I decided to make uh this
10. 0:20video in which I just talk as if I were
11. 0:22talking to another person like here in
12. 0:24my country in the US, if I were just
13. 0:26talking to a friend or something like
14. 0:28that. Uh, and so I want to uh make this
15. 0:31video and you can use it to see uh if
16. 0:34you can understand me without reading
17. 0:35the subtitles or maybe you can
18. 0:37understand me while you're reading the
19. 0:39subtitles. Doesn't really matter. It's
20. 0:40just uh a way for you to test your
21. 0:43level. And people ask me all the time to
22. 0:45make uh more advanced content. And so
23. 0:47I'm going to talk about that in just a
24. 0:49second. But um here, this video right
25. 0:52here is me just talking normally. And so
26. 0:56you can treat this kind of like a test
27. 0:57just to see where you're at. And if you
28. 1:00end up needing to use the subtitles,
29. 1:01that's perfectly fine. Uh you're just
30. 1:04trying to see uh how much you can
31. 1:06understand uh when I just talk at normal
32. 1:08speed. Um because it's good to kind of
33. 1:11gauge your level from time to time and
34. 1:13see how much you can understand of a
35. 1:14native speaker when they just talk
36. 1:16normally. So uh let me just say that.
37. 1:19And by the way, uh, excuse the
38. 1:21sunglasses and the fact that the sun's
39. 1:22right in my face, but it's freezing
40. 1:25right now. It's not freezing, but I'm a
41. 1:27big baby when it comes to cold weather.
42. 1:29And the season is definitely uh
43. 1:32changing. It's autumn now, and so uh I
44. 1:35kind of want to be in the sun. So that's
45. 1:37why I'm right here with my glasses on.
46. 1:40Excuse the kind of ridiculous look, but
47. 1:42I'm sure you don't mind. So, in general,
48. 1:45I'm easier to understand than most other
49. 1:48native speakers are. And some people
50. 1:50would say I'm the easiest person to
51. 1:52understand. I've had people tell me that
52. 1:54literally I'm the easiest person on the
53. 1:56face of the earth for them to understand
54. 1:58in English. Of course, I'm talking about
55. 2:01uh non-native English speakers, learners
56. 2:03who are trying to learn English. They'll
57. 2:05tell me that I'm the only one they can
58. 2:07understand. I'm the easiest person. I've
59. 2:10always spoken more clearly than other
60. 2:13people. Even before I was an English
61. 2:15teacher. So, it's not just because I'm a
62. 2:18teacher or just because I make this
63. 2:19content. In general, I'm a clear
64. 2:22speaker. I've always been kind of a
65. 2:24storyteller. I've always loved telling
66. 2:27stories and uh just um you know, talking
67. 2:30about things in an animated way and
68. 2:32recounting things uh from the past. Uh
69. 2:36my friends would used to tell me that I
70. 2:37was a good storyteller. Uh I'm a little
71. 2:39bit more dramatic in the way that I
72. 2:41speak than other people perhaps. And I
73. 2:45don't I don't normally speak that fast.
74. 2:47Uh it's just not um normal for me to,
75. 2:51you know, talk super super fast like
76. 2:53that. Uh and so uh I just I'm a little
77. 2:58bit easier for people to understand,
78. 3:00let's say. So, if you can understand me
79. 3:02right now, me talking at normal speed,
80. 3:04uh that doesn't mean that you're going
81. 3:06to be able to understand every other
82. 3:08native English speaker when they talk at
83. 3:10normal speed. So, I just wanted to make
84. 3:12that note. And so, usually because I'm
85. 3:16better uh sorry, I'm uh easier for
86. 3:18people to understand uh because of that
87. 3:22uh people like to use my content as kind
88. 3:24of like an introduction to native
89. 3:26English. So that's why people use like
90. 3:28my advanced podcast episodes, uh even my
91. 3:31US Conversations podcast, people use
92. 3:33those things because uh when I talk at
93. 3:36normal speed, they can still understand
94. 3:38me better than other native speakers.
95. 3:40And so it's kind of like an intermediate
96. 3:42step uh in between like listening to
97. 3:45slower content and listening to just
98. 3:48random native speakers talking. you
99. 3:50know, me talking at normal speed is
100. 3:52usually kind of like one step in between
101. 3:54there just because I'm easier for people
102. 3:56to understand. So that kind of helps
103. 3:58bridge the gap between uh like uh
104. 4:01content made for learners and then
105. 4:03authentic content. So um that's a reason
106. 4:07one of the reasons why people like my
107. 4:09fast content, my advanced episodes, my
108. 4:12US conversations podcast. And you might
109. 4:15uh be watching this video and you're at
110. 4:17a lower level of listening and that's
111. 4:19perfectly fine. You might still be at a
112. 4:22level where uh slower content is
113. 4:25necessary and that's great. You just use
114. 4:28that content and work your way up until
115. 4:30you can eventually use content uh in
116. 4:33which I'm speaking at normal speed or
117. 4:35another native speaker is speaking at
118. 4:36normal speed. It's just like a matter of
119. 4:39getting a little bit better, a little
120. 4:40bit more comfortable um every day and
121. 4:44using content that's appropriate for
122. 4:46your level. And so, um let me talk about
123. 4:49content appropriate for your level. Like
124. 4:52in the comment section of every single
125. 4:53video, I'm sure maybe even in this video
126. 4:55uh under this video, you'll see comments
127. 4:57uh like this as well. Uh, let me address
128. 5:00the questions about people uh that
129. 5:03people ask about B1 videos, B2 videos or
130. 5:06whatever C1 videos. So, I've talked
131. 5:09about this before and I I'll mention
132. 5:11this again. So, you have probably seen
133. 5:14that I make a lot of A1 videos, A2
134. 5:16videos. And the way that I make those
135. 5:19videos is it's not that an A1 video
136. 5:22contains content that is uh you know
137. 5:26perfectly understandable for everyone at
138. 5:28an A1 level. That's not how I classify
139. 5:31an A1 listening practice video because
140. 5:34uh in my opinion when you're at a
141. 5:37certain level and you want to reach the
142. 5:39next level, you have to use content that
143. 5:42is at that next level. you have to
144. 5:44challenge yourself with content that's a
145. 5:47little bit harder for you, a little bit
146. 5:49uh you don't understand everything,
147. 5:51right? And so if you're at an A1 level
148. 5:54and you're listening to a video that's
149. 5:55titled A1 listening practice and that
150. 5:59video just contains language that you
151. 6:02understand perfectly, that's not that
152. 6:04good of practice. I mean, sure, it it's
153. 6:07good to listen to anything, but that's
154. 6:09not necessarily helping you reach the
155. 6:11next level. So, when I title a video A1
156. 6:14English listening practice, just know
157. 6:16that there's uh content in there or the
158. 6:18whole video itself might be above an A1
159. 6:21level, but that's the content that you
160. 6:23should be using if you're at an A1 level
161. 6:26because you should be listening to
162. 6:27content that's a little bit challenging
163. 6:29for you. So, I know some people have
164. 6:31mentioned that in the past like, "Oh,
165. 6:33this is an A1. This is, you know, harder
166. 6:35than that." I know it is. That's the
167. 6:38whole point is that if you're at an A1,
168. 6:40the listening practice videos you should
169. 6:42be using are videos that are above an A1
170. 6:45level. Does that make sense? So, same
171. 6:47thing with A2, right? So, let me address
172. 6:49the B1 question cuz people, you know,
173. 6:53constantly comment this B1, B1, B1. If
174. 6:56you are truly at a B1 level, if you're
175. 6:59at an intermediate level, because B1 is
176. 7:01what? Intermediate. If you're at an
177. 7:03intermediate level, in my opinion, you
178. 7:06should be using content that is made for
179. 7:08native speakers. Or if that's still a
180. 7:11little bit too hard for you, use content
181. 7:14like mine where it's like my advanced
182. 7:16content, advanced podcast where it's at
183. 7:19normal speed, but there's like the
184. 7:21transcript uh there to help you. And you
185. 7:25know, obviously I'm a little bit easier
186. 7:26to understand, but it's basically native
187. 7:28content, but with some tools to help you
188. 7:30understand it. Or like my US
189. 7:31Conversations podcast, it's native
190. 7:34content. we speak normally, but there's
191. 7:36the tool of the transcript with the
192. 7:37definitions of words and phrases that
193. 7:40helps you understand that native
194. 7:41content. If you're at a B1 level, do not
195. 7:44seek uh intermediate level um you know,
196. 7:48podcasts and YouTube videos if you truly
197. 7:51want to reach the next level. I'm not
198. 7:53saying it's bad to do this, but what you
199. 7:55should be doing is you should be using
200. 7:58native content as quickly, as soon as
201. 8:01you can. Not too soon, but I mean as
202. 8:04soon as it's suitable for you. Okay. So,
203. 8:08once I reach a B1 level in Greek, you
204. 8:11better bet that I'm forgetting all the
205. 8:13learner content. I'm not going to use
206. 8:15any more content that's made for
207. 8:17learners at B2. At B1, no, I'm just
208. 8:20going to use native content and
209. 8:21hopefully have tools that can help me
210. 8:23understand that. or I might use a
211. 8:26podcast made by a Greek teacher, but uh
212. 8:29they're speaking at normal speed and
213. 8:30they provide the transcript or something
214. 8:32like that. So, you know, I'm not going
215. 8:34to make B1 and B2 videos and title them
216. 8:37B1 B2 cuz that goes against my
217. 8:39philosophy cuz I think if you're at a B1
218. 8:41level, you should be trying to use
219. 8:42native content. Like this video right
220. 8:44now is a B1 video for you. I'm not
221. 8:48saying that this content is B1. Of
222. 8:50course, I'm just speaking like a native
223. 8:52speaker, but if you're at a B1 level,
224. 8:54this is the type of content you should
225. 8:56be using. It has the subtitles, so it
226. 8:58helps you understand me as I'm talking.
227. 9:00So, B1 should basically just be native
228. 9:03content that has something that helps
229. 9:05you understand it, like subtitles, uh, a
230. 9:07transcript, definitions, things like
231. 9:09that. Uh, or you can just try it without
232. 9:12those things. So, I want to address that
233. 9:14cuz I get that question all the time.
234. 9:15So, if you're asking for B1 videos, that
235. 9:18means you need to start using content
236. 9:19like this. Use native content. Okay. Um,
237. 9:23let me see what else here that I wanted
238. 9:24to talk about. So, uh, okay. Yeah, if if
239. 9:29you're you insist and you say, "No,
240. 9:30Connor, I really want you to make B1
241. 9:33level content, B2 level content." Uh,
242. 9:36well, number one, I just explained to
243. 9:37you this is B1 content. It's just
244. 9:39literally me talking at normal speed. If
245. 9:41that's what you're looking for, use my
246. 9:43advanced episodes because this is what I
247. 9:45do. And in my in my advanced episodes, I
248. 9:48talk like I try to talk even faster
249. 9:50because I know that I speak uh slowly
250. 9:53compared to other speakers. And so uh if
251. 9:56I'm trying to help you get accustomed to
252. 9:58like other people speaking, you know, I
253. 10:00kind of want to speed up my speech a
254. 10:01little bit. So in some of those advanced
255. 10:03episodes, I might talk a little bit
256. 10:05faster at points than I would normally
257. 10:07talk just to kind of get you accustomed
258. 10:09to fast English. Even right now, uh, I'm
259. 10:12trying to fight the urge to speak slower
260. 10:14because I'm someone that generally
261. 10:16doesn't speak that fast. So, I'm trying
262. 10:18to keep the rhythm up. But for me, it's
263. 10:20just not not, you know, that normal for
264. 10:22me to talk fast. Uh, so if you want, if
265. 10:25you're just insisting on having B1 level
266. 10:28content, just use my advanced episodes,
267. 10:30okay? Click on the link in the
268. 10:31description, sign up for those. It's
269. 10:33super cheap. You, once you sign up, you
270. 10:35get all of my advanced episodes from the
271. 10:37past. you're getting dozens and dozens
272. 10:39and dozens and dozens of advanced
273. 10:41episodes with the transcripts. So, it's
274. 10:43a great deal. It's super uh just
275. 10:46convenient. It's my voice. It's the
276. 10:48transcript that you have. So, it's
277. 10:51exactly what you're looking for. And
278. 10:53then, you know, aside from that, the US
279. 10:56Conversations podcast that I talk about
280. 10:57a lot is great as well. If you're
281. 10:59looking for B1 content, B2 content, C1
282. 11:02content, that's you should be using
283. 11:05native level content. And specifically,
284. 11:07if you're asking for like B2 content, C1
285. 11:10content, you should be listening to a
286. 11:12podcast like my US Conversations podcast
287. 11:14in which I talk to another person. So,
288. 11:16you're actually listening to two people
289. 11:17talk and not just one. And then, of
290. 11:19course, I provide the transcript. I give
291. 11:21you the definitions of keywords and
292. 11:22phrases we use. So, that if you're
293. 11:25asking me for that content, I already
294. 11:27make it, okay? You just have to sign up
295. 11:29for it, right? It's just not the free
296. 11:31content that I give here on YouTube.
297. 11:33Because let me just be perfectly honest
298. 11:35with you on YouTube uh you know the
299. 11:38content that most people want just like
300. 11:40the average person who's learning
301. 11:42English on YouTube they're usually
302. 11:44looking for lower level content and so
303. 11:46that's what I make. Okay. So when people
304. 11:48reach a higher level and they need
305. 11:50content that's not just like learner
306. 11:52content you know this is what I offer
307. 11:54you know for my membership and my US
308. 11:56conversations podcast. I reserve that
309. 11:59for for those uh memberships, right?
310. 12:02What I make here for free on YouTube is
311. 12:04the content that most people are looking
312. 12:06for. And you might think, "No, no,
313. 12:08people are looking for higher content."
314. 12:09No, trust me, I I I do this I do this
315. 12:12for a living. And I can tell you that
316. 12:14there's a big difference in view count
317. 12:17uh for like the lower level videos and
318. 12:18the higher level videos. The lower level
319. 12:21videos always consistently uh on average
320. 12:25have more views. Okay? It's because
321. 12:27people are looking for this content on
322. 12:29YouTube. Uh because once you reach a
323. 12:31higher level, you can just start using
324. 12:33native level content. And that's why I
325. 12:35don't release a lot of that content here
326. 12:37on YouTube because I already released
327. 12:39that uh guided native level content, you
328. 12:42know, through my membership, US
329. 12:43Conversations Podcast, etc. So, I really
330. 12:46just want to clear that up. And I know
331. 12:47some of you disagree with me on that.
332. 12:48That's fine. But just know that that's
333. 12:50kind of my model here. This content on
334. 12:52YouTube and my normal podcast is a
335. 12:55little bit lower level content
336. 12:56generally. Um, and then the more guided
337. 12:59higher level content is um, accessible
338. 13:02via my membership, my US Conversations
339. 13:04podcast. But I will probably make videos
340. 13:07like this from time to time where I just
341. 13:09kind of like talk normally. Uh, but it's
342. 13:11not going to be like an every week type
343. 13:13of thing, right? I might do A1 videos,
344. 13:15A2 videos, and then this will be like
345. 13:17the B1 video. So, if you're really
346. 13:19looking for that, you know, I might
347. 13:21release a video like this, but it's not
348. 13:22going to be very often. It's going to be
349. 13:24once every couple months or something
350. 13:25like that. Uh, and so if you really
351. 13:28want, you know, just a lot of content
352. 13:30for that level, uh, please click on the
353. 13:32links down below. And then lastly, let
354. 13:34me just talk about the purpose of
355. 13:36listening. You know, why uh just in
356. 13:39general, why you should do listening
357. 13:41practice, what you're doing it for. So,
358. 13:43number one, you're learning words when
359. 13:45you listen. Okay? And you can do this
360. 13:47with content of any at any level, right?
361. 13:49So you can learn new words from beginner
362. 13:52content because sometimes there are
363. 13:53words that you don't know, right? So
364. 13:55it's still beneficial to listen or uh
365. 13:58listen to or watch any type of content
366. 14:00if you're um you know focused on
367. 14:02learning vocabulary, right? Um, you also
368. 14:05improve your speaking when you listen uh
369. 14:08to pretty much any level content because
370. 14:11as long as it's correct English, you're
371. 14:13kind of internalizing some of the
372. 14:15patterns, some of the things that you
373. 14:17hear in those videos, uh, you copy
374. 14:19native speakers when they talk. Uh, even
375. 14:22like in my lower level videos, you can
376. 14:24copy the sentence structures that I use.
377. 14:27And, uh, once you hear them over and
378. 14:29over again, they just become natural for
379. 14:31you to use. you kind of get a feel for
380. 14:33things, you know, grammar, uh, you know,
381. 14:37different structures. And of course, you
382. 14:38can use repetition, uh, with those
383. 14:41things and just, you know, once you
384. 14:43listen to that same, uh, piece of
385. 14:45content again and again, you're just
386. 14:47going to want to say things that you
387. 14:49hear in that content. So, it helps you
388. 14:51improve your speaking. And then number
389. 14:53three, so vocabulary, speaking, and then
390. 14:55listening. So obviously listening helps
391. 14:57you listen, but specifically like I
392. 15:00mentioned before, if your goal is to
393. 15:02improve your listening, all right, I
394. 15:03want to kind of end on this idea. What I
395. 15:05already mentioned before, you you have
396. 15:08to listen to content that's harder than
397. 15:11just the level where you're at. If you
398. 15:13just listen to content at the level
399. 15:15where you're at, yeah, you're going to
400. 15:16learn words. It's going to help your
401. 15:18speaking. That's all great. That's
402. 15:19beneficial. But if your goal is to
403. 15:21understand better, then you have to use
404. 15:24content that's a little bit challenging
405. 15:26for you. Okay? That's why I do the
406. 15:29videos the way I do them. That's why I
407. 15:31make them this way. If it says A1, it's
408. 15:33not just A1 content. It's harder than
409. 15:36A1, so that you can actually practice
410. 15:38with something that's challenging for
411. 15:39you to reach that next level, right? So,
412. 15:42if you're at a B1 level again and your
413. 15:45goal is to practice your listening,
414. 15:47right? you really want to get better at
415. 15:49listening, you have to listen to
416. 15:51something that's a little bit above your
417. 15:52level. So, if you're at a B1 level, use
418. 15:55guided native content like I already
419. 15:56mentioned. So, if you're looking for
420. 15:58content that uh will help you uh improve
421. 16:01your listening and you're already more
422. 16:03at an intermediate level, then make sure
423. 16:05to click on the links down below uh for
424. 16:07my more advanced content and uh those
425. 16:10will be great for you to help you uh
426. 16:12achieve your listening goals. Okay. All
427. 16:14right. Thank you all for watching this
428. 16:16video and I'll talk to you in the next